DEEP WATER

(director: Renny Harlin; screenwriters: Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause, Damien Power; cine.atographer: D.J. Stipsen; editor: Geoff Lamb; music: Fernando Velázquez; cast: Aaron Eckhart (Ben, First Officer), Ben Kingsley (Captain Richard), Lucy Barrett (Penny), Molly Belle Wright (Cora, girl survivor), Angus Samson (Dan), Lakota Johnson (Hutch), Kate Fitzpatrick (Becky), Elijah Tamati (Finn, child passenger), Ryan Brown (Declan), Kelly Gale (Jaya); Runtime: 110; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Gene Simmons, Gary Hamilton, Volodymyr Artemenko, Grant Bradley, Dale G. Bradley, Neal Kingston, Robert Van Norden, Ryan Hamilton, Ying Ye, Adrián Guerra, Bob Yari; Magenta Light Studios; 2026-Australia/USA)

“A shallow, formulaic and predictable film.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Finnish-born, Hollywood-based filmmaker, Renny Harlin (“The Bricklayer”/”The Misfits”), directs this schlocky disaster B-film that’s written by Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause, and Damien Power. Harlin tries to make it another campy version of his “Deep Blue Sea” (1999), but the director seems to have lost his fast-ball and comes up all wet.

A passenger plane with 257 aboard leaves Los Angeles for Shanghai and during mid-flight crashes after a malfunction caused by a battery pack igniting in the cargo section, which was illegally taken aboard by a moronic, obnoxious passenger (Angus Samson). The plane must make an emergency landing in the shark-infested Pacific Ocean, where the survivors (30 are killed) unite under the leadership of the veteran Captain Richard (Ben Kingsley) and the unambitious but competent First Officer Ben (Aaron Eckhart) to stave off the hungry mako sharks gathering around the wreckage they’re holding onto for dear life, as they wait for help to arrive.

It’s a shallow, formulaic and predictable film that’s destined for cable, but won’t be playing on any flights.

It played at the Sarasota Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 5/2/2026  GRADE: C+
dennisschwartzreviews.com